J.K. Rowling is a name embedded deep into the memory of every 90s kid. Harry Potter is a literary phenomenon. The magical world of Potter that is so loved by many is entirely the brainchild of someone as creative as J.K. Rowling.
But, her story to become the biggest storyteller of the century had its own share of hardship.
J.K. Rowling pictured Harry Potter while traveling on a train. Soon after conceiving the idea she began writing it. But, she had to withdraw herself even sooner, when her mother passed away.
Due to the gravity of the incident, she left writing the book and got depressed. She had no job, and her sorrow was too huge to be channelized.
Later, as time passed, she took a job in Portugal where she taught English for a year.
The underlying intention to shift aboard was to escape from her sorrow and the places associated with it.
She then used her off-duty times to continue working on Harry Potter. She set herself a target to finish the book before she leaves Portugal.
But things took a different turn. She left her book incomplete only to fall in love and end up in a failed marriage and a baby daughter.
Sorrow found her again and this time it was worse. She also had a baby to feed.
She started fighting for her child by raising her all alone and independent by the meager unemployment benefits. She resumed to Harry Potter at a nearby cafe.
And eventually, Harry started healing her for better. She gained confidence and her losses in life gave Harry Potter his character. She based other characters on various metaphorical real life people, except Voldemort- who was the only one to be based upon (an emotion) the sorrow she faced.
As she said once-
When I opened my eyes, I found myself at the rock bottom of my life. It was a VERY SCARY PLACE to return. But then, when I tried to accept it for once, it wasn’t REALLY that bad. In fact, NOW THAT I had nothing to lose, I COULD ONLY RISE. LIKE THE PHEONIX FROM ASHES… So then, I came across this unknown confidence that I can only BETTER now.
Later as soon as Rowling finished the initial chapters, she sent the manuscript to every publisher she could hit.
But soon her mailbox only got filled with only rejection and waitlists.
She kept doing it anyway until the editor at Bloomsbury Publishing found it. As he began reading it, his 8 years old daughter loved the opening chapters so much that she begged her father to read the entire thing. And so, Harry Potter became a reality.
However, she was advised by her publisher to get a day job.
To his disappointment, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone broke all time records by becoming the highest grossing children’s book ever.
Later the Harry Potter series became an inseparable part of English literature, and the most loved book series by both children and adults.
The movie adaptation made the franchise even more popular.
And, J.K. Rowling became perhaps the biggest name in the 21st century English literature.
The story behind Harry Potter is equally entertaining and gives us a lesson-
Doesn’t matter how dark the times are, you must always seek the light.
